Now You See Me 2
“Now You See Me” was a nice little surprise in 2013. Movies about magic can be tricky depending on how you approach them, and that one did a fine job with action and suspense as the Horsemen blew our minds while pulling off long cons on their audience with Robin Hood acts of criminality. It set up a sequel, as well, but honestly, I would never say I needed a sequel to this film. I enjoyed it, but hardly enough to get me excited about a follow-up. In modern Hollywood, though, anything that makes some money requires a second go-round, and so it is with this series. Color me shocked, then, when I actually enjoyed this film even more than it’s predecessor. It was clever, well-constructed, and entertaining, and a lot of that goodwill came from the actors. Two, in particular, stood out, and not surprisingly, they were new faces to the franchise.
Let’s start with Daniel Radcliffe. The idea of Harry Potter himself in a movie about magic, playing someone decidedly un-magical, is a bit easy in terms of casting, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. He’ll always be Harry Potter when you look at him, but he’s also starting to dive into other roles where that connection gets upended, and Walter Mabry, in this film, fits that bill. He is someone who faked his own death, and has a personal vendetta against the Horsemen (Atlas, Merritt, Jack and Dylan), so during their newest bit of trickery to get the masses on their side, he hijacks the proceedings, and brings him to them. Radcliffe is a gifted performer, capable of seriousness that masquerades as fun, and he has a lot of fun in this role. He’s every bit of a nerd as Potter was, but with a wicked streak that is just cool to watch as his ego meets it’s match with the Horsemen.
The other new face that makes “Now You See Me 2” more fun than it should be is Lizzy Caplan. She plays Lula, brought in a Mark Ruffalo’s Dylan to be the “female” Horsemen after Henley (Ilsa Fisher, who couldn’t return due to pregnancy) leaves the team, and right away, she proves herself capable to matching wits with Jesse Eisenberg’s Atlas. She’s also a total Horsemen fangirl, with a particular jones for Dave Franco’s Jack, who has been working on his hypnotism with Woody Harrelson’s Merritt. Caplan (“The Night Before,” “Cloverfield,” “The Interview,” “Hot Tub Time Machine”) has been a fun addition to any movie for a while now, and she brings an energy to the film that her male costars can’t really accomplish, although all of them do well here. With her and Radcliffe on board, you almost don’t really care how derivative this sequel is, and you go along for the ride because this cast, with it’s new blood, makes every moment fun.
